I was sent some Wild and Game sausages to use in a recipe, so I made these sausage bites. All images and opinions are my own.
Christmas is a season for entertaining. Having friends round for drinks and nibbles is something we do a lot. Whilst bowls of crisps and nuts are always a hit, serving a couple of homemade canapés makes me feel slightly more of a domestic goddess than I really am. This week I tested out these Puff Pastry Sausage Bites which I’ll be serving to guests on Christmas Eve. They were quickly gobbled up and given the seal of approval from the boys, so I’m sure your guests will like them too.
You could make them with whatever your favourite sausage is, I used some Grouse and Wild Boar sausages from Wild and Game. Wild and Game are a non-profit organisation with the main aim of introducing the British public to game meat. They have a range of game-based pies, pasties, sausage rolls and sausages and want to show that game meat isn’t just for special occasions. Game is a healthy choice and is generally low-fat and low-cholesterol.
My Puff Pastry Sausage Bites are so easy to make, especially if you cheat like me and buy ready-made puff pastry. They’re a crispy canapé, full of gamey flavour which is complimented by a dab of redcurrant jelly. They’re festive without being too in your face about it.
Puff Pastry Sausage Bites
Makes 24 Sausage Bites.
Ingredients:
1 sheet of ready-made puff pastry
A pack of Grouse and Wild Boar Sausages (or your favourite sausages)
Redcurrant jelly, I used just over a tablespoon
1 beaten egg
How to make your sausage bites:
Pre-heat your oven to 200° and put a sheet of baking parchment on a baking tray. Unroll your sheet of puff pastry and using a sharp knife divide it up into 24 squares.
I used a shot glass to press a circle into the middle of each of the squares, you just need the indent rather than cutting through. This should stop the whole pastry square from rising in the oven.
Carefully transfer each square onto your baking sheet. You might need to bake them in batches so don’t cram them in. Using a teaspoon, put a small dollop of redcurrant jelly in each of the circles. You don’t need much, maybe 1/4 of a spoon.
Now is the slightly messy bit. Take a sausage and squeeze the filling out of it put a piece of the sausage-meat on top of each circle. Each sausage should be enough for 6 sausage bites. You should use just 4 sausages for this recipe, if you’ve got a packet of 6 sausages you could make yourself a sausage butty with the last two sausages for your lunch.
Once each square has some redcurrant jelly and sausage-meat in it, brush around the edges of the pastry with the beaten egg and put in the oven. Bake for 15-18 minutes until golden brown. Remove from the oven and leave to cool slightly before serving.
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